The situation of Castro del Rio after the conquest of southern Córdoba from a geographically and military makes it an important town on marked routes between Cordoba and Granada. Although there was at the forefront of cutting edge, the population maintains a frontier town character.
Castro's strength was protected by other earned in the same year (1240) as was the Goat, Rute, Bella, Benamejí, The Tiñosa, six years later he completed his security with the conquest of Priego. Baena, Cabra, Valenzuela and defensive Albendin complete the knot. The peopling of Espejo and started building his castle by Pay Arias de Castro in 1303 are to improve the protection of the countryside and become a focal point and warning between Castro and Cordoba.
Granada came to the throne of Muhammad IV in 1325, brings a series of raids that is slowly affecting Castro del Río. In 1326 Christians lose Zambra, three years later and in 1333 Priego Castillo Benamejí and Anzur. Two years suffering
Christian frontier robbery and destruction by the Nazarene, who are at its height makes it collapse the English border.
Three days in the spring of 1333 to fight Muhammad IV Castreños who are now most important mission is to defend Baena's rear, the most advanced place to the kingdom of Granada. With Castro's decision to dismantle the military defense of Christianity in the border.
Chronicle says that the king Granadino "his host very large bag, which he brought all the knights of his kingdom and great power of people standing spearmen and archers and proprietress, who were wearing many peaks and many açaadones, and wine to take over a castle that dizier Cordouan Castro. "
The action takes place in three days. At the dawn of the third, Muhammad "command tubal ring and the drums, and was from then."
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| Kids with swords on the day of San Marcos (Elsa y Miguel) |
If we ignore the chronic men working for the defense of the town they were slightly in number 300, of which the first day 40 and die 100-sixty wounded seriously they could not be used in the resistance of the second day. The first action of the king of Granada was burned the suburb of the slide and the opening of gates in the wall, opening a total of six access points.
Castro sends messengers to Cordoba for help. It is organized in a select army commanded by Pay Espejo Arias (chronicled here is wrong, since he had died in 1330 and had Ruy Páez succeeded by his son) and Martin Alfonso, M. de Montemayor future. That night they held a council. Some are in favor of coming to the defense in that night and others thought that Castro had to surrender. Alfonso Martín
then became a providential man marching to Castro that night. http://historiasdecastrodelrio.blogspot.com/2010/07/se-la-encasquetamos.html . He was very knowledgeable about the area, his father had tested on Castro in 1325, his brother Fernand Alfonso Castro had been mayor of the Elder (Torreparedones-Castro del Rio) in 1328, and his family also owned the Castle of Two Sisters so it was a made man at the border. Castro reached "and hastily went to the door of the castle, possibly of Martos organizes the defense and sent two emissaries to mirror, one is caught" and knew how the other yua with that courier. " Muhammad IV Knowing that the entire border was already on a war footing is convinced that if he failed to enter the town the next day would not get again "By this the king of Granada rresçelose Cordouan that since there were other arrivals and were in Espejo, who was surnamed the earth, and that preuenian him night or day and would receive a survivor Dellos damage and dishonor, and agreed to fight for another day the castle very settlement ". Just
dawn the second day, the Muslim army organized the attack on triple share. Some are dedicated to reopen the gates, which were closed at night, others with picks and hoes, trying to tear down part of the wall of the fence, and more, with crossbows and arrows, so that the besieged nor " on top of the fence or behind the battlements non could defend the many arrows Tirau them. " Manage to open a gate where they die almost all advocates of this point, but personally, Alfonso Martín, organized in a fierce resistance. At night, the Moors had failed to take the town. At night reinforcements arrive in the morning mirror and decides to leave the King of Granada to Cabra getting taken. Laconically chronicle concludes, "and was the site of Castro by the Christians."
The incident occurred in the spring of 1933, no exact date, but historically has been held by April 25 Castreños the feast of San Marcos, which he also built a chapel in her honor, now defunct .
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| Entrance to the village called "the Hole." You may be opened in some of the gaps left by the assailants. |
For the uninitiated of the population come to say that the strength of Castro del Rio was made for more than forty towers, now I do not think the existing twenty passes, many houses are built and others are fully visible. The perimeter wall comprises what we know today as the Barrio de la Villa, with about three hectares, which makes us think that with so few effective defense must be hard.
The creation of this new post is given by the completion of restoration work on the painting "The Conquest of Castro del Rio." The reason for this picture is that the help he received from Martin Castro Alfonso, it seems that it is a work of the seventeenth century and was attributed to Antonio del Castillo (1616-1668), contained in the Catalog of Benito Navarrete, but apparently this information may not be true. Hopefully the publication of these works of restoration and new results have been achieved.
few years ago went on sale recorded with the same title and the same reason, but with a richer picture, possibly the base of the table, passing into the hands of the Ministry of Culture, luckily for us.
After the siege carried out by Muhammad IV, summoned the garrison, took care to form a hermetically sealed enclave. Three gates were closed in its possession the premises Almohad, leaving the limelight from the ancient gate of Martos, equipped and decorated with the most advanced Poliorcetes prevailing at the time.
"The front door call Tuesday, only in ancient times the square, was placed in the corner which left the hammer eastern bulge of the castle, including the wicket of the house where Ms. Josefa luisa Mazuelo and tower Virgen de los Remedios, lowered in the day, with another that was where the pipe today, were the key to that door and the storm door and drill, Carlton, stone arches, almenillas, view, peaks and colorful shots. "
gate was modified and enlarged in 1733 by reason of the stay of Felipe V in the town of Guadajoz, "judging the floats would not fit through the door, sank on her wall that connected with the castle to bring up to disengage."
Ten years later he removed and destroyed this door to the ground to make wide the entrance to the villa.
It seems to me that the artist stood at the door on the street is named after Mars, and that goes to the road of Jaén, from there he painted the only known circular tower and safely be built in the mid-fifteenth century is housed inside a tank. I
looking than the symmetry of paint drawing another round, that did not exist and reflects the right of it, as I suppose did with the two towers that we are on the drawing, in and of strength. From this point of view, we saw the tall main tower, which the artist has refined to give him line with the steeple of the Parroquia de la Asuncion, easy to guess your right on the bell tower.
More info from Fernan Nuñez:
http://ibncalez.blogspot.com/2011/03/el-socorro-castro-del-rio-i.html .
http://ibncalez.blogspot.com/2011/03/el-socorro-castro-del-rio-ii.html .
* With the same title, there is another entry in Fernan Nuñez.
Information extracted from:
Manuel Nieto Met. Castro del Rio in the late Middle Ages (1236-1400). Castro del Río. Historical Sketch of an Andalucian village. 1986
Jorge Forné León. Castro: a Hisn Defensive Structures in Al-Andalus. 2003.
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